The Valentine's Games
by Jemimah Puddleduck
Summary: Nino and Alya decide it's about time for some matchmaking! And what better time than Valentine's Day? Enter Nino's first Valentine's Games, where random *ahem* completely random *coughcoughnotrandomcough* couples must compete together against other couples. And guess who Marinette's with? Perhaps her crush will become something more when a certain someone seems interested!


**Good evening everyone! I am the Dancing Princess, and I am your host tonight!**

 **Jk, that should be Nino. I'm getting carried away. But this is my quick Valentines one-shot for our favourite couple! Also a hint of AlyaxNino... they aren't a couple... yet :). I'm not gonna include their Miraculous Stones or kwamis... it might turn out too complicated. So it's just Adrienette. Hope you enjoy it!**

 **I don't own Miraculous Ladybug or any of the characters.**

Marinette gulped. She knew she shouldn't have come. Alya nudged her friend and they sat, cross-legged on the ground in Nino's living room. Most of the class were seated too, either chatting or moaning for Nino to tell them what they were doing. She really shouldn't have come.

Earlier that week, Nino had issued an invitation to the whole class, to come around to his place for some fun. Which was all well and good, until he'd told them the date. The 14th of February. Apparently Nino had coincidentally forgotten it was Valentines day. Or so he'd told them. Now it looked like Nino had been fully aware of the date, and in fact had chosen it specially. There were red hearts strung all around the room, and there were love-themed game booths set up around the house. The front door slammed closed for the last time as the last person arrived and Nino stood up.

"Good evening. I am Nino, your host, and welcome to my humble abode." He swept his hand around the room, and several people giggled, Marinette included. Nino could be funny when he put on voices.

"Now, as I'm sure you're aware, it is Valentines Day. What a happy occasion. Or not so happy if you aren't with your one and only love." He wiggled his eyebrows meaningfully and groans were heard throughout the room. "Nevertheless, I am here to solve all your problems. Or make them worse, depending on your luck. As you entered the house tonight, you received a flower, did you not?" His eyes glanced over the room, noting that everyone had a flower. "Well, you better hope I gave you a nice colour, because the other person with a matching flower will be your partner for the night. Together, you will compete in, the very first..." Nino paused dramatically, "Valentines Games!"

"What?" Chloe shouted. "You could have rigged this! You handed the flowers to us as we entered! I did not get to choose, in fact, I was going to take a yellow one, but you checked your list and insisted that I had an orange one!"

Nino smirked at her. "I may have given our a few flowers specifically, but I also may not have! There is no proof!" Alya nudged Marinette.

"I helped Nino decide the pairs," she whispered gleefully. Marinette could only guess who Alya had put her with. She sighed. She shouldn't have come.

"I'm not going to play unless I get Adrikins!" Chloe screamed, like a bratty two year old.

"Then that is your choice," Nino stated calmly. "But the winning pair tonight will not only get tickets to Jagged Stone's concert, but.." Nino paused as excited squeals were heard, "But they will get free entry to the one and only Gabriel Agreste modelling show!"

More squeals and shrieks were heard and Nino silenced everyone with a bell he held in his hand.

"Quiet! Now, the way the game works, is you will move around the booths, playing each game as best you can. When you hear this bell," he rang the bell again, "You will move on to the next booth. Then at the end of the night, there will be one final round that will take place outside. This final round will be the round that you can accumulate the most points in, so even if you are coming last, you can make it up in the final round. However, the couple that are coming first before that round will receive 10 bonus points! And there will be no cheating! The games are mostly one or two teams versing off against another. Thus, the teams will be able to monitor each other to make sure no one cheats. Also, since you may not be confortable with it, and Alya told me it was a bad idea, we will net be playing games such as Seven Minutes in Heaven and Spin the Bottle. This night is for fun only, so you don't have to feel pressured into doing anything you don't want to. So are you ready?"

"Yes!" the class yelled.

"Then go find your partner and I'll ring the bell for when you begin! Everyone is to find a booth and get ready to play. When the bell rings, move in a clockwise direction to the next one! You also have to choose a name for your team, so you can log your scores. Now go!"

Marinette stood shakily, grasping the red rose with both hands. Alya stood beside her, and Marinette noticed that she wasn't holding a rose.

"Alya, aren't you playing?" she asked, confused.

Alya shook her head. "Nope. I helped set everything up, so I know how everything works. It would be cheating to play with an unfair advantage, so Nino said I could just chill with him."

Marinette raised and eyebrow. "Nino said that, huh?" Alya nodded. "I'm guessing you didn't object?"

Alya shook her head. "Not one bit, girl! Nino... you can't say he's not cute!" Marinette laughed outright.

"You totally like him! And he like you too!" Alya nodded about to respond when a voice behind Marinette stopped her.

"Marinette!" She turned, to come face to face with none other than Adrien, who was holding a red rose, identical to the one she was holding. "Looks like we're a team!" He smiled at her affectionately. He really liked Marinette. She was sweet and caring, and she loved her friends with everything that she had.

"Adrien!" she said in surprise. "I should have guessed." She looked at Alya accusingly, and Alya merely grinned.

Adrien was caught off guard. "You guessed? How? Was I supposed to know-" But Marinette, blushed and cut him off.

"No, no, i-it was j-just a passing thought." Marinette glared at Alya. She could kill her later. Right now, she just had to breathe and try to win those tickets to Gabriel's show.

"Ah, okay..." Adrien shrugged. Marinette was always a little cautious around him, and he hoped he could get to know her better tonight. She really was pretty cute. To be honest, when he'd first seen her that night, she'd taken his breath away. Marinette was wearing a simple pink dress, with a bright sash. It suited her perfectly, and she looked amazing. Then he blushed furiously. She was just a friend! That was all! "Um, do you want to go choose our first game?" he asked, trying to distract himself.

"Yeah..." Marinette and Adrien left, and Alya grinned. She hadn't missed Adrien's blush, nor the slight hesitation in his words. It was working already. And that dress she'd made Marinette wear? It was perfect. Alya had seen Adrien's jaw drop when he'd seen her. Now, where was Nino?

Marinette and Adrien ended up at a booth with Alix and Kim. There was a large mat on the ground, and a screen with with writing displayed on it.

"Couple's Yoga Challenge," Adrien read, and Marinette shrugged. She'd never done yoga before, although it looked fun. "Can you do these couple's yoga poses?" Adrien continued to read. "You must hold each pose displayed for at least three seconds." Marinette cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Shouldn't we think of a team name?" she asked, and Adrien nodded.

"Any ideas?" They brainstormed for a few minutes, before Marinette came up with the perfect name.

"Miraculous." She smiled, and Adrien nodded, entering their team name into the computer. Next to it was Alix and Kim's name- "Skullcrushers."

Adrien eyed it with distaste. "What a lovely name," he commented dryly, and Marinette giggled.

"Dinga linga ling!" Nino's bell rung and he came over to the group as the other teams began to play.

"I'm here to make sure you get the positions right!" he called. "Now go!"

The couples looked up to the screen and groaned. There was a guy lying on the ground, with his feet holding up a girl on top of him. They were holding hands, balancing horizontally.

Adrien at once lay on the ground. "Mari, you grab my hands and lean on top my feet, then I'll lift you up," he called, and Marinette hurried to obey. They failed the first few attempts, with Marinette falling sideways the moment she was in the air, but eventually they held it for three seconds. Alix and Kim did it easily, with Kim's feet balancing the tiny Alix with room to spare. They had already moved on to the next one, which was a man standing upright, and a girl holding his hands with her feet on his hips, leaning out to almost a ninety degree angle to him. Alix and Kim were struggling, mostly because Alix kept accidently tickling Kim and he kept doubling up with laughter.

Marinette took hold of the opportunity to take the lead and firmly completed the position. Adrien and Marinette moved on, to a girl doing a back-bend on top of a man, who was on his hands and knees on the ground.

"Can you do a back-bend?" Adrien asked her anxiously, but Marinette brushed him off.

"Oh, please. I did acro for three years!" They completed the position and were just about to attempt another, when Nino stopped his timer and rang the bell.

"Enter your scores on the screen in front of you and move on!"

Alix and Kim angrily entered a 1, and Marinette entered a 3. She jumped up and down and Adrien laughed.

"We did great on that one!" she said enthusiastically.

"We sure did," Adrien agreed, "But we've got this one coming up! And we're against Mylene and Ivan!"

They sat down at a bench, with 16 plain cupcakes on it, and the screen in front told them it was a decorating competition. Each team had to decorate 8 cupcakes as fast as they could, and the first team to finish was the winner. Marientte's eyes lit up with joy and she saw all the decorating equipment.

"I am probably going to manage two, and you will do all the rest with out batting an eyelash," Adrien said ruefully.

"No, you'll do great!" Marinette said encouragingly, and he giggled, bopping her on the nose with some frosting.

"You're just being nice! You're the baker here!" Adrien laughed, and she giggled, a twinkle in her eye.

"You know what, you're right. I was just being nice, but after that," she wiped the frosting off her nose, "I agree with you. I will do 6 and you can do the rest. We'll see who finishes first," she said with a smile.

"Oh, and what if I do?" he said, tackling her and putting frosting on her cheek.

"We'll just wait and see," Marientte told him mischievously, and the bell rung. Marinette immediately grabbed a cupcake and iced all 6 in quick succession, as Adrien tried to get the icing smooth on one. He kept his eyes focused on his two, and when the were iced, he grabbed a handful of sprinkles. As he tried to arrange a series of coloured lollies on one, he glanced up, and his jaw dropped. In front of Marinette, stood six beautiful cupcakes. The icing was smooth, they were all decorated differently, and they looked incredible.

Adrien gulped and focused on his. Even if he was way behind her, Ivan kept on accidently crushing his cupcakes and having to start again. Finally, he was done, and he inspected Marinette's cupcakes in detail. They were all decorated like animals, he noted with surprise. There was a turtle, a fox, a bee, a peacock, and... two cupcakes, sitting together, apart from the others, decorated like a ladybug and a black cat.

"Wow.." he breathed. "You're amazing Mari!" he shouted, and Mylene agreed, trying to finish her fourth cupcake. "You totally won that round for us!" Marinette smiled happily, glowing at the praise, her eyes dancing with joy.

"It gets easier everytime you do it. I do it as a job, so obviously I'm going to be faster. And we got to keep the cupcakes," she giggled, "So I made that one specially for you." She pointed to the cat.

Adrien shook his head. "That is insane. Thank you!" he hugged her. Marinette giggled, the sound of pure joy.

"I knew cats were your favourite animal, so I made it with you in mind."

Alya, standing beside Nino, grinned happily as she watched Adrien hug her friend.

"Aww, they're so cute!" she squealed. "Thank you so much for letting me put them together!" Nino grinned.

"They make a good team. So far, they've won everything they've done. But the next one will be hard."

Alya frowned. "What is it?" Nino pointed to four chairs in a square.

"They have to answer questions about each other. I know for a fact that Adrien knows a lot about Mari, but how much does Mari know about him? I mean, it's obvious that she likes him, but does she know much about him, like his favourite colour and stuff?"

Alya scoffed and rolled her eyes. "My girl's got this in the bag."

And Marinette did. Sure, it was embarrassing admitting how much she knew about Adrien, but she was surprised at how much he knew about her too. Before she knew it, they were on to the last few games.

Adrien read the instructions. "Each team gets a buzzer, and the screen will display a name. As soon as you know the pair of the name, you press the buzzer and shout it. The names will be things like Fiona, and the answer for that would be?" he looked at Marinette, wondering if she knew.

"Shrek!" she answered cheerfully. Rose grinned at her from across the bench. She and Max had been doing well so far, and Rose was confident that they'd got this game under control.

"Max and I will beat you!" she shouted enthusiastically, then her normal composure kicked in again. "I mean, I hope you guys have fun!" she giggled.

Adrien smiled. "You would be surprised how many romcoms I watch in all my lonely hours indoors. I think we've got this Mari!" he grinned at her.

"Adrien!" Marientte cried. "You aren't supposed to watch romcoms alone! It's way more fun with friends. Besides," she added a little self-consciously, "I didn't know you liked the whole romantic Disney movies stuff!"

Adrien grinned. "I'm a hopeless romantic at heart. I'm sorry for letting you think otherwise, my lady." Marientte raised an eyebrow.

"My lady? Where did that come from? And next time you're going to watch a movie alone, call me. I'll come watch with you."

Adrien was touched by her kindness. "I will. It would be fun with you. And the nickname? I don't know. Wait, you like ladybugs? How about Bugaboo?"

Marinette wrinkled her nose. "You're a silly kitty," she said, referencing his favourite animal, and he squeezed her hand.

"You know you love me," he said playfully, before noticing her start of surprise and the blush rushing to her cheeks. Oops. Maybe wrong choice of words.

"I-I mean, as a friend," he mumbled, but she didn't hear. She was still in shock. Wait, that couldn't mean that she actually did like him, right? He liked her, but had no idea that she like him. Could it be possible? He grinned to himself. Only one way to find out.

"Princess, it's almost time to start," he said, watching for her reaction. She flushed even redder, and the bell rang. The screen flashed, and a name appeared.

"Minnie Mouse." It had only been there for half a second before Adrien smashed his hand on the buzzer.

"Micky Mouse!" he said breathlessly. He was still a little overcome by the realisation that Mari liked him. Now he was turning that adreniline into brain power for the game. They continued, and he managed to press the buzzer almost every time. Max always knew the answer, he just spent an extra second double checking in his mind, while Adrien checked in the second after he'd pressed. Rose and Marinette literally just sat there, watching while the boys fought it out. Eventually, Max began to hit the buzzer first, and Rose cheered him on. Finally, with only a few names left, Max and Adrien were stuck.

"Ladybug." the screen displayed. They both stared at it, thinking, and after a few moments, Marinette jumped up, pressing the buzzer confindently. Adrien looked at her, surprised, and she spoke, giving the answer easily.

"Chat Noir." Adrien looked taken aback. What was this Ladybug thing? And how funny, that she liked Ladybugs, and he liked black cats. The screen flashed again.

"Tikki." Again, Marinette pressed th buzzer, and gave the answer.

"Plagg." she said, and the screen flashed, conferming that as the correct answer. The screen flashed again, this time giving the final scores, and Adrien whooped as their score appeared higher than Max and Rose's score. He dove to hug Marinette and she laughed.

"You were great, Adrien! I had no idea for most of those, but you were awesome!"

Adrien smiled, and hugged her tighter, his arm securely around her waist as he held her. Her arms found themselves around his neck, and Adrien discovered that he didn't mind it at all.

Nino called them back to the present, and Marinete noted with some satisfaction that his arm was around Alya's waist.

"Now, thank you for playing! We will now have our final round, in the streets of Paris! It's okay, the area we will be playing in is brightly lit with people all around, so there is no danger of anything happening to anyone. The couple with the highest score so far is team..." he consulted a tablet held easily in his left hand. "Miraculous!" Adrien, having just let go of Marinette, snatched her up again, shouting in triump as everyone applauded them. As he released her down, he kept an arm around her shoulders and she placed one arm around his waist. They were both aware of their feeling for the other, and after spending a whole night together, they had no problems showing it. Nino eyed them, mentally making a note to ask Adrien if they were dating, then continued.

"Now, you have spent the whole night getting to know your partner better. And now, however well you know them is going to be helpful for you. So the team that knows each other the best will know have an advantage, although most of you look pretty comfortable."

It was true. Nino, in fact, had not chosen randomly at all, rather, he and Alya had spent ages trying to work out who liked who in order to ensure that at least one couple started dating by the end of the night. From what he could see, it would likely be more than one. Most of the pairs were touching each other in some way, or standing very close. He grinned inwardly. Marinette and Adrien looked very happy, and he was going to have to hand this one to Alya. She had totally called it.

"Now, the girls will all come and take an envelop from this pile, and then go and collect everything written inside. Their partner will be given the same envelop, with the same list, but instead of trying to find the things, he will have to try and find his partner. So say the first thing is 'a long red leaf'. Now they aren't common, but say Juleka here," he addressed her, "She really loves flowers. And Nathaniel knows that she loves going to the gardens on the corner of the street. So he goes there. But Juleka has used her five minute headstart to her advantage and has already been there. So she's left one of her flowers there." He brandished a pile of flowers, about ten of each colour. "She will leave a blue flower, because blue is the colour of their team." Nino gestured to the blue flowers she and Nathaniel held. "Do you get it? Then, once the boys to find their partners, they can start to help her as fast as they can. So the faster the boy goes, the more likely they are to get back first. And if the boy is fast, but the girl is slowing down so he can catch her, she will now have found not as many items, so they won't be as fast. Have you got that?"

He looked around at them all, nodding their heads.

"Then everyone come and grab and envelop, and girls, grab your flowers! When I ring the bell, you may open your envelops and go whenever you choose to! Are you ready?"

The girls rushed forward, grabbing envelopes and flowers. Nino raised the bell about his head, all eyes fixed on it. He paused, and everyone held their breath. And held it. And held it. Nino smiled teasingly. He was loving this. Then Alya stepped it.

"Oh, just hurry up!" she said, and jumped up, ringing the bell as she hit it with her hand. Instantly, there was the noise of ripping envelops, and after a few seconds, most of the girls dashed off, leaving the boys walked up to take their envelops.

Chloe stalked up angrily to Nino, the last girl to leave and frowned.

"Nino, why am I with him!" she cried angrily, ponting to Jean, her parter, who didn't look like he was having much fun. Nino felt sorry for him. "Adrikins should be with me, not with Maritrash! She's a dork, and she'll never be as good as him. Adrien wants to be with me! I've known him the longest, and he only likes me! How could you put poor Adrikins with Marinette? He probably hates her!" Nino was about to say something when Chloe felt a hand on her shoudler.

"Chloe." It was Adrien. Chloe, expecting Adrien to agree with her, began another stream of hate about Marinette, when Adrien cut over the top of her.

"Chole, not of those things you've said about Marinette are true. She is an amazing girl, and I like her very much. In fact, I like her a lot more than you. I'm sorry, but it's true."

Chole stared at him with her mouth wide open.

"And do you know why?" Adrien continued. "It's because she doesn't say mean things about people behind their backs, and she does't say untrue things. Marientte doesn't scream and yell when she doesn't get her own way, unlike some I know." He gave Chloe a pointed look.

"But Adrikins! You love me!" Chloe tried to plant a kiss on his cheek, but Adrien was having none of it.

"Chloe, you don't understand. Marinette is incredible. And I like her. A lot."

Chloe fell silent, an angry look on her face. "But Adrikins, you've known me the longest, and I am always there for you! Marinette is just a boring, plain girl who has a celebrity crush on you! Come back to me, Adrien!" Chloe whined.

Adrien sighed. He really didn't what this confrontation to go for much longer.

"Look, Chloe, I like being with Marinette, okay? Do you understand what I'm even saying? I am very pleased she was with me the whole night, and I hope to spend more time with her in the future."

Chloe was about to say something else, but Nino shoved her out the door. "Go, go, go! Your partner will have to go soon and you're wasting your five minute head start!" Chloe grumbled, but eventually left, and Nino turned to Adrien with a smirk.

"Bro, you're got it so bad," he said, winking. Adrien just rolled his eyes.

Marinette was one of the first out the door. Her list had been not quite what she was expecting. Instead of find this, and find that, it said things like "Get some free food," and "Go to your favourite spot by the river and pick a flower there." She supposed that made it harder for anyone who didn't know their partner very well. Luckily, she and Adrien had been talking about the river earlier, and she was all set. Marientte, of course, ran straight to her parents bakery for the free food.

Sabine and Tom listened to her garbled explaination and handed her a biscuit or two. She told them Adrien would be coming soon, and left the flower on top of the display cupboard. Marinette rushed out again, and had barely been gone for a minute before Adrien ran in, breathing hard. Without a word, Tom handed him Marinette's flower and a biscuit, and he ran out again, clutching both in one hand. Marinette had already been to the river when he arrived, but he scooped up the flower and checked his list again. "Take a photo of your favourite childhood playground." Marinette had talked about going to the swings by the waterfront, and he raced off. He saw it from a distance, and thought he saw the flash of a camera, before a shadowy figure ran away. Bother, he'd missed her again. He though about following the figure, but realised he needed all the roses as proof he hadn't just randomly spotted her on the street. Supressing a sigh, he grabbed the flower and checked the list again. "Best place, (in your opinion) to have fun and hang out with friends. Take a selfie there." Well, that would be the park across from her house. If the shadowy figure was Marinette, then he was heading the right way. She dissapeared as she entered the park, and he followed swiftly. He was about to enter the park, when a small figure collieded with him.

"Ouch!" it cried, and landed on the ground.

"Marinette!" Adrien said delightedly.

"Hi," mumbeled the figure on the ground. Adrien picked her up gently, and she giggled.

"That was quite a way to find me," she said. "Reminds me of the first time we met, actually."

It was true. They had met after Marinette had bumped into him at the school.

"Right. Let's get the rest of these things and get back to Nino's!"

When they finally arrived back at Nino's, they found that Ivan and Mylene were already there. They were a couple, so Adrien assumed that they would know each other very well. You couldn't compete against a couple in that sort of event. When at last everyone was back and Alya had made sure everything was completed, Nino rang that bell again.

"Urg, I'm starting to hate that bell," Marinette said softly to Adrien, who agreed, slipping his arm around her. The movement seemed so natural, and yet, earlier today, Marinette would have been screaming and fainting if it had happened.

"So, I hope you've all had fun tonight," Nino said, and there were murmers of agreement all around. "I'm sure you're all wondering who's won." He looked around, and everyone nodded. "Well, the winner of tonight's Valentines Games is..." he paused dramatically and everyone held their breath.

"Team Miraculous!"

"Yes!" Adrien shouted, picking Marientte up and holding her tightly. She was a little surprised at first, but laughed, and squealed with glee as he spun her around, holding her close.

"Here are your tickets," Nino said, handing them to Adrien. "Those are for Jagged Stones concert, and for the modelling show, by the one and only Gabriel Agreste!"

Adrien put Marinette down, and accepted the tickets.

"Thank you," he said, and Marinette was quick to follow with her own thank you.

The night ended soon after, and Adrien insisted on taking Marinette home. They chatted and laughed the whole way home, and when they at least made it home, neither of them wanted to leave.

Adrien took her hand and hugged her.

"It's been a great night," he said, and Marinette nodded.

"Thank you for being so much fun," she responded shyly, looking down. Adrien gulped. How was she this cute. He took her hand in both of his and took a deep breath, not quite sure how to put his next words.

"Marinette, I had an amazing time with you. And I always have an amazing time with you. I love how you smile and how you speak and how you always put others before yourself. You are truly incredible. Your love of life and love of all your friends is amazing to see. You are beautiful, inside and out. Your eyes sparkle when you talk about the things you love. You put your whole heart and soul into everything that you do. And I was wondering," he took another gulp of air, "If when were attend the concert, you would do me the honour of being my," he swallowed, "My girlfriend?"

Marinette stared at him in shock. "Are you serious?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Never more serious in my whole life."

"Then yes!" squealed Marinette, and Adrien pulled her into a hug. She was his. His girlfriend, his princess, his lady, his bugaboo. And never had Adrien looked forward to anything more than that concert.

 **And that is it, my firiends! Hope you loved this Valentines themed fanfic, coz I loved writing it! This actually turned out a lot longer than originally planned, and I still don't want to leave it, so if you guys want, I might write a little sequel? Please tell me what you think!**

 **Sorry I didn't include as much NinoxAlya as I wanted to, I was too busy with Adrienette. I though it was cute! Please excuse any errors in this, my normal spellcheck is not working and I am a terrible speller.**

 **Please review! I hope you all had an amazing Valentines Day!:)**

 **~The Dancing Princess**


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